Naa Ishtam Review

A film banking wholly on the passing of the torch ritual (the torch of non-acting stars). It’s amazing how identically talentless the younger stars are.

Plot

One of those consciously unoriginal screenplays which kind of says “listen, we know this script is basically boring and we haven’t even written most of it yet.But, you haven’t seen Rana in a boring premise like this. How about that? It’s boring, but with Rana. He hadn’t bored you with one of these yet. Getting the point?”

Ganesh (Rana) lives in Malaysia and does something for a living. He hates his dad for leaving his mom and he’s got this very subtly implied trait of selfishness (he says it himself in a voice over; most of our films are made keeping the blind in mind I guess. We like saying it out, everything. Screen’s as good as blank).

He meets Krishnaveni (Genelia) at this temple where she’s waiting for Kishore to come and marry her. Kishore doesn’t turn up and Krishna ends up at a brothel from where Ganesh saves her after fighting and then paying the pimps (it just happens, don’t ask too many questions).

Ganesh learns her story, makes up a lie (something about her mom) and fools her into flying back to India so that he can demand the money he had shelled down for her in a drunken moment. Krishnaveni whose set-up for a marriage she doesn’t like ends up eloping once again but with Ganesh on the side this time.

The second half is how Ganesh outsmarts Kishore (who comes back after realizing what’s important in life) to get Krishnaveni.

Expectations

We’ve seen the posters, trailers, haven’t really heard any songs etc. We know how uninteresting this film is, we all know. We know what to expect. We don’t really hope for anything less than absurd, but it’s not like you can bear with something just because you know how it’s going to be. Absurd is absurd.

Actors

I am really waiting for all the popular reviews and read what they have to say about Rana. Things like he’s maturing as an actor, beginning to dance well, how he surprises us in a few important scenes; you know, reviews that try real hard so that nobody’s hurt and we go on to live a beautifully dumb life. I am just waiting to laugh my ass out at those reviews.

Genelia’s back to get paid for mostly nothing, although she can point out at Rana and say the same thing. Their attendance on the sets is what counts.

Verdict

Summer’s up, theaters playing this film should be decent sleeping options.